Best Printer for Home Use With Cheap Ink: 6 Products Reviewed!

Whether you manage a home office or you’re a student who needs copies of documents for a project, having a printer at home is essential.

But you need to consider the cost of ink cartridges, especially when selecting printers for home use.

The six printers we reviewed in this post are designed with affordability and convenience in mind, featuring low ink costs and easy setups.

Whether you’re looking for inkjet or laser printers, you’re guaranteed to find your perfect fit, so keep on scrolling!

Printer Model	Printer Type	Print Speed	Duplex Printing	Duplex Scanning
HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e	InkJet	20 ppmmonochrome10 ppm color	Yes	No
Canon TR8620a	InkJet	15 ppm monochrome10 ppm color	Yes	No
Brother MFC-J1010	InkJet	17 ppm monochrome9.5 ppm color	Yes	No
HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1202w	Laser	21 ppm monochrome	No	No
Brother MFC-J4335DW	InkJest	20 ppm monochrome16 ppm color	Yes	No
Canon imageCLASS MF445dw	Laser	40 ppm monochrome	Yes	Yes

Best Printers With Cheap Ink Cartridges Compared

Here’s our selection of the best printers with cheap ink on the market!

Overall Best: HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e

The HP OfficeJet is an all-in-one printer that features superb printing quality, high print speed, and ease of use. Best of all, it’s one of the most cost-effective printers on the market!

For starters, the e signifies that the printer is eligible for an HP+ account, an option that you’ll select during setup.

HP+ qualifies you for smart printing and an optional one-year supply of HP instant ink cartridges, but you’ll need an internet connection, an HP account, and credit card details.

You can cancel or change the ink subscription at any time; otherwise, you’ll be charged a monthly fee after 12 months.

Additionally, the HP+ upgrade ensures that your printer updates itself when new features are available.

However, you won’t be able to use any other cartridges apart from the original HP printer ink cartridges.

The HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e is compatible with the HP smart app, which gives you access to advanced features for two years.

These include virtual printing or scanning via Android, Mac, Windows, and iOS devices, but you can use the wi-fi option if you’re within reach.

Also, HP offers security for cloud printing, as you can protect sensitive documents with a password.

The printer has only one feeder tray, which means you’ll have to load and unload papers each time you want to switch from one print media to another.

Although the machine offers duplex printing, you’ll have to scan original two-sided documents manually.

Additionally, the printer has a color touchscreen display for viewing from any position.

You can print decent-quality photos using this printer, but expect some banding within the grayscale.

Pros

• Flatbed scanner for delicate photos and bulky documents
• Offers virtual printing and scanning from any device
• Maximum print speed of 20 ppm for monochrome and 10 ppm for color printing
• Great photo printing quality for reports and newsletters

Cons

• Black ink runs out faster than the color ink cartridges
• No duplex scanning
• Single paper tray

Key Takeaways

If you’re not bothered about two-sided scanning, the OfficeJet Pro 8035e offers a high level of convenience for printing at home. Its build quality is attractive, compact, and strong.

Runner Up: Canon TR8620a All-in-One Printer

Canon TR8620a All-in-One printer is a compact home printer that can print, scan, copy, and fax documents.

Its LCD touchscreen displays a short video that tells you how to use the machine.

With its in-built wi-fi, you can connect multiple devices and print from any room without hassles.

The printer also has a slot for a memory card, enabling you to print photos from your camera’s memory card.

Whether you own an Android or iPhone, with the Canon print app or Apple Airprint, you can edit and print photos directly from your mobile device.

The printer runs on five individual inks with a dedicated cartridge for black ink.

This means that you can print in black and white until you’re able to replace the color that isn’t available.

There’s also a dual-paper feeder that can hold both photo and plain papers without switching trays, which makes for better productivity.

And if you’re big on using fewer papers, you’ll find the duplex printing feature helpful.

Pros

• Easy setup process for computers and mobile devices
• Maximum print speed of 15 ppm for monochrome and 10 ppm for color
• Flatbed scanner and automatic document feeder
• Supports wired and wireless printing
• Excellent photo quality

Cons

• Doesn’t offer duplex scanning
• Requires strong wi-fi to function

Key Takeaways

The Canon TR8620a is a perfect printer for home use. Not only is it affordable, but it also uses cartridges that are relatively cheap. You can also use high-yield cartridges that will last a long time, whether you’re printing documents, photos, or both.

Best Budget Printer: Brother MFC-J1010

The Brother MFC-J1010 printer is a fully functional inkjet printer that can fit into any available space in your home.

The sleek machine runs on four cartridges and can copy, scan, and fax with minimal ink without downplaying speed.

Also, it has an automatic document feeder with a 20-page capacity and enables duplex printing, which saves you paper and time.

With its 150-sheet capacity paper tray, you don’t have to keep checking the number of papers left before printing, making you ten times more productive.

And when it comes to print quality, you should expect a “wow” effect, as it has a resolution of 1200 x 1600 dpi.

The machine allows photo printing directly on photo papers.

There’s a USB port for connecting to a single computer, and it also has an in-built wireless connection for multiple users.

Even your guests can connect and print, provided they’re within the wi-fi range.

Brother MFC-J1010 has a mobile app for printing from your smartphone and managing the printer virtually.

Pros

• Easy to set up and manage
• Multiple connectivity options (mobile devices, USB, and wi-fi)
• Fast and quality printing and scanning
• Maximum print speed of 17 ppm for monochrome and 9.5 ppm for color
• Automatic two-sided printing

Cons

• Color printing may become expensive over time
• Doesn’t support duplex scanning

Key Takeaways

The Brother MFC-J1010 is fast when churning out black-and-white documents. However, the ink cartridges require frequent replacement since they have a low page yield. But the good news is that they’re cheap, keeping your running costs at the bare minimum.

Best Toner-Free Laser: HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1202w

If you’re in the market for a monochrome laser printer, you’ll love what the HP Neverstop Laster MFP 1202w has to offer.

With it, you can bid goodbye to big, expensive toner cartridges that make toner refills messy.

When you run out of toner, you’ll refill the machine with a toner kit that offers 2,500 pages.

Also, the machine won’t stop printing when the cartridge is empty because it has a reservoir that holds up to 5,000 pages.

As a bonus point, when you exhaust half of it, the machine will prompt you to insert a refill, taking the value back to 5,000.

Additionally, the machine has a monochrome LED screen with buttons for navigating, scanning, copying, canceling, and powering on/off.

It’s compatible with the HP Smart app for easy setup on all your devices and instant printing.

The app also has a modern fax feature for sending a secure fax from your smartphone.

Although you can print on a wireless network or with a USB cable connection, the HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1202w has a wi-fi direct feature that allows you to print from your smartphone or tablet without being connected to the internet.

Pros

• Copies, scans, and faxes
• Refills toner without making a mess
• Offers good print quality
• Cheap toner refill

Cons

• Doesn’t support automatic duplex printing and scanning
• Has a maximum print speed of 21 ppm, which is quite slow for a laser printer

Key Takeaways

HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1202w isn’t made for printing color photos since it’s a monochrome printer. However, it can copy, scan, and fax documents and offers superb print quality.

Best Ink Tank: Brother MFC-J4335DW INKvestment Tank

Brother MFC-J4335DW is a lightweight all-in-one wireless printer that uses a front-loading investment tank system to reduce operating costs while generating a high number of pages.

Unlike traditional ink cartridges, the investment tank ink cartridge holds more ink and eliminates manual refilling.

The printer comes with one year of ink supply, so you won’t have to purchase ink immediately.

Apart from printing, scanning, and copying, Brother MFC-J4335DW can send and receive fax messages when connected to a Windows device.

The printer has an automatic document feeder that can handle up to 20 legal-size papers, but you can’t scan a two-sided document automatically.

With a resolution of up to 2400 x 1200 dpi, you should expect the Brother MFC-J4335DW to produce crisp images.

The machine is easy to set up and offers multiple connectivity options; you can connect through wi-fi, wi-fi direct, or USB.

The wi-fi connection allows you to scan and print from One Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and other cloud storage services.

Brother also offers an app for Android and iPhone users to scan and print from their mobile devices.

Lastly, the printer includes an option for copying, maintaining, and placing an order for paper or ink.

Pros

• Maximum print speed of 20 ppm for monochrome and 16 ppm for color
• Physical buttons for easy navigation
• Mobile app
• Automatic duplex printing
• Standalone fax feature

Cons

• Doesn’t support duplex scanning

Key Takeaways

The Brother MFC-J4335DW is a great machine for personal use. A combination of its mobile app, multiple connectivity features, and investment tank makes it one of the best budget printers on the market.

Best Monochrome Laser: Canon imageCLASS MF455dw

Canon imageCLASS MF455dw checks all boxes as a high-quality and reliable monochrome laser printer.

It has a large touchscreen control panel for easy setup and other tasks such as printing, scanning, and monitoring usage levels.

It also gives access to Canon’s library of applications, where you can find features such as scanning to email and printing from Dropbox, One Drive, and other cloud storage sites.

You can customize the control panel to display different screens with categories of shortcuts to streamline your work.

Additionally, the machine has a One Pass duplex scan feature, which means that it can scan two sides of a document at the same time.

When it comes to paper handling, the MF455dw can hold 350 sheets and can be expanded to hold an additional 550 sheets, making it a 900-sheet capacity machine.

The printer supports USB connectivity, ethernet, wi-fi, and wi-fi direct. You can also print from your mobile device using Apple Airprint and Mopria.

There’s a USB port on the printer that allows you to plug in a thumb drive and scan or print from it.

The Canon imageCLASS MF455dw uses a toner 057 black that yields over 3000 pages, but you can opt for the high-capacity toner to get 10,000 pages if your printing needs are high.

Pros

• Excellent print speed of 40 ppm
• Multiple connectivity options, including access to a library of applications
• Large paper capacity and dual paper trays
• Duplex scanning and printing

Cons

• Prints only black
• Doesn’t print on glossy photo paper

Key Takeaways

The Canon imageCLASS MF445dw is great for printing white and black documents. The toner is relatively cheap and has a large page yield, which is a cost-effective option for regular bulk printing. Also, the expandable paper capacity and dual feeder save you time in loading and unloading papers.

Buying Guide for Home Printers With Cheap Ink

Besides the cost of an ink cartridge, when you’re out for a printer purchase, there are a few key factors you should consider. Here’s a brief roundup of them.

Inkjet Printer vs. Laser Printer

The two main printing technologies are inkjet and laser printing.

The inkjet printer isn’t only ideal for personal use but also for small offices.

Its initial cost is relatively cheap, and the color quality is suitable for brochures, newsletters, and even photos, making it ideal for people who need to print documents containing graphics.

However, you may have to get a replacement ink bundle quite often.

But with advancements in technology, some inkjet printers now come with an internal ink storage tank, which has refill kits that reduce the cost of printing compared to traditional ink cartridges.

A laser printer, on the other hand, uses toner, which offers more page yield, higher-quality text, and more speed compared to an inkjet printer.

The catch here is that most laser printers are monochrome, so you can’t use them to print graphics and color images. They’ll serve the purpose if you want to print bulk white and black documents, though.

Printing Speed

A slow printer can be a pain, especially if you print a large number of documents at once.

Printer manufacturers usually include the speed of their products on the packages, measured in PPM (pages per minute).

PPMs vary for monochrome and color printing, so you’ll find both values if you’re purchasing a color printer.

It’s important to check the PPM before purchasing a home printer if you don’t want to sit all day waiting to get your documents.

On average, color printers should have about 10 to 15 ppm, while monochrome is about 15 to 20.

Multiple Connectivity Options

USB connections are common for printers, but modern machines now have several ways to connect to them.

For instance, you might find an in-built wi-fi setup that enables you to connect to a network and print from another room in your home.

Also, there’s a wi-fi direct feature for peer-to-peer connection that requires establishing a signal between your smartphone and the printer.

Many all-in-one printers now also offer cloud printing from Google Drive, Dropbox, One Drive, and other platforms. Meanwhile, some support ethernet connections, which is helpful for a home office.

Duplexing

For home printers, duplexing is now a big plus, especially if you’ll be scanning or printing multiple-page documents.

Instead of manually flipping the pages, the machine will do the job for you.

Although many all-in-one printers have an auto document feeder that supports duplex printing, not all of them can do a duplex scan, so you should check this feature from purchasing.

To Wrap Up

Whether you want to print on plain paper, glossy photo paper, or an envelope, there’s a home printer that can get the job done.

Choosing a printer that uses cheap ink isn’t one of the easiest tasks you can think of, considering the number of models available on the market. However, we’re here to help!

Our overall best cheap printer is the HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e. It offers several smart features, including security for cloud printing.

Also, it prints 20 monochrome pages per minute and 10 color pages per minute, which is amazing for an inkjet printer.

But if color isn’t your priority, an all-in-one laser printer like Canon imageCLASS MF455dw will be perfect. At a speed of 40 ppm, your documents will be generated in a breeze!